PhD Doctor of Philosophy Metaphysics and Ontology 1

Question 1

Ontology is the branch of metaphysics that investigates the nature and categories of:

Accepted Answer

Being and existence

Answer

Ontology asks fundamental questions about what exists, what kinds of things there are, and what it means for something to exist.

Question 2

Platonism in metaphysics holds that abstract objects such as numbers and properties:

Accepted Answer

Exist independently of minds and concrete things

Answer

Plato argued that abstract entities like the Form of Beauty or the number 7 have objective, mind-independent existence in a non-physical realm.

Question 3

Nominalism in the debate over universals holds that only:

Accepted Answer

Particular individual things exist

Answer

Nominalists deny the existence of abstract universals, claiming that general terms like 'redness' refer only to collections of similar particulars.

Question 4

The principle of parsimony (Occam's Razor) in metaphysics recommends not multiplying:

Accepted Answer

Entities beyond necessity

Answer

William of Ockham's principle holds that when two theories explain the same facts, prefer the one that posits fewer kinds of entities.

Question 5

Mereology is the study of the relationship between:

Accepted Answer

Parts and wholes

Answer

Mereology examines questions like when parts compose a whole, whether wholes are distinct from their parts, and what determines an object's boundaries.

PhD Doctor of Philosophy Practice Test

PhD Doctor of Philosophy Practice Test

PhD Doctor of Philosophy Metaphysics and Ontology 1